Tag: HR technology

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Companies may pay the price for poorly managed payroll practices

compensation, payroll, blue collar

Culture may eat strategy for lunch, but a fair, well-oiled compensation plan can gobble up culture for breakfast, dinner and maybe even a midnight snack.

While culture indeed is crucial to engagement and retention, compensation still remains near or at the top of most employee satisfaction surveys. Poorly run compensation and payroll practices makes engaging employees an impossibility if they are not being paid fairly and on time.

Get a handle on your payroll practices

Employees deserve their paychecks on time. They also deserve to be accurately compensated for the time they put in. Both of these points may seem to be forgone conclusions when it comes to an organization making its payroll.

But according to a survey earlier this year, 32 percent of small business owners have made a payroll mistake at least once. What is more troubling, the same survey also noted that it took 56 percent of business owners longer than 24 hours to fix a payroll mistake.

That’s a problem for any employee. For those living paycheck to paycheck, a payroll snafu can be devastating.

Also read: Knock out the practice of buddy punching for good

Considering that employee engagement figures typically hover somewhere around 33 percent in good economic times and in bad, there is no faster way to turn a loyal staff member into a disengaged one than a blunder with payroll.

Automate payroll processes to eliminate delays and errors

Automating payroll may initially seem imposing. Organizations are locked into legacy practices, and payroll typically is one such function.

Some 39 percent of small business owners spend one to three hours on payroll per week. That’s hundreds of hours spent poring over timesheets, tapping digits on a calculator, assessing overtime and finally scratching out checks, which if the sun, moon and stars properly align there won’t be any mistakes.

Save a tree, cut back on paper-based payroll

Many organizations rely on a paper-based system, too. A 2017 survey revealed that 65 percent of people surveyed said that HR information is still managed using paper documents, paper-based processes and stored in filing cabinets. 

Implementing a payroll solution not only improves the company’s bottom line but it minimizes hours of repetitive tasks and effort spent on high-volume, low-value work. The result is a better functioning payroll system that affords time to focus on correcting errors, improving processes and delivering payroll efficiently and on time. Automation is assisting payroll teams perform their jobs in several ways. 

Managing compliance risks

It’s a challenge to stay abreast of tax laws, rules and regulations, especially for organizations working across multiple states. Payroll mistakes are costly and learning all the nuances to stay in compliance is a huge time drain. It’s crucial to stay on top of what it takes to remain compliant to reduce legal liability. Workforce.com’s payroll integration platform is designed to keep pace with labor law changes and ensure that pay rates are always updated. 

Gathering the metrics

Collecting timesheets from multiple departments and in varying formats is the height of payroll inefficiency. An automated payroll solution turns data collection inefficiencies into a faster and simpler task.

Move data quickly

An automated, integrated platform also allows for the smooth transfer of information between systems. There’s no need to wait on various departments or managers to file and then crunch their data.

Added expenses due to poor data entry errors and payroll oversights are avoidable. By upgrading an outdated payroll function with an automated platform eliminates inefficiencies, promotes compliance and allows employers to stay on top of wage costs.

With employment contracts, timesheets, benefits and labor laws, there are a lot of factors involved in payroll that can result in miscalculations. Workforce.com’s payroll integration solution connects with more than 50 payroll systems to ease compliance and enhance efficiency.

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Growing Workforce Success with Palumbo Foods

staffing management, Palumbo Foods

Workforce.com sat down to talk growth with local champignons, the owners and staff of Palumbo Foods in Avondale, Pennsylvania.

Founder Tony Palumbo, having grown up in the mushroom industry, invested in his own company in 2008. A decade later, Palumbo is joined by several members of his family in overseeing more than 40 staff members. They sell over 350,000 pounds of mushrooms each week. Together, they supply mushrooms and seasonal produce to customers not just in Pennsylvania, but also in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, Georgia, and Texas.

Vice President Shawn Palumbo is Tony’s son and talks about running this successful food business and their partnership with workforce.com

Talented people behind a family business

“We have a lot of talented people on the staff who really go above and beyond,” Palumbo said. “And that goes from our office team to our dock employees who are building orders day and night to our over the road truck drivers. We have a lot of dedicated people and that’s really what makes it work.”

Besides providing fresh, locally grown produce, the Palumbo Foods team also emphasizes customer service. Indeed, the family business has thrived through the tight-knit relationship of the staff, not just with each other, but also with their customers. Shawn Palumbo said, “A bunch of loyal customers believed in what Tony was looking to do and stuck with us to help us get started.  Years later, most of those customers still work with us.” Today, from locally grown mushrooms, they’ve branched out into seasonal produce like garlic, ginger, peppers, onions, cucumbers and microgreens.

Data-led improvements that matter

Time is of the essence, especially in the food business. That’s where Shawn Palumbo’s team encountered their biggest challenge. They thought they could make headway by keeping most of their staff in the first shift. “We always only operated with a first shift team, but we realized we were overloading them. There just was too much work for anyone to get done,” he said. Enter the Workforce.com platform, a workforce management software with tracking and reporting capabilities.

“The biggest key is visibility. Workforce.com gave us visibility to see where our hours were being spent and where we could place them,” he said.

From just having a first shift and seeing what needed to be done during the day, using the Workforce.com platform allowed Palumbo Foods to see that they actually needed a third shift. “Looking at the numbers and seeing the physical data on paper and on the computer allowed us to make a decision that we wouldn’t have been able to make without the platform so to speak,” he said. The team in charge of carrying out improvements relied on the Workforce.com platform to make the decision to add a third shift.

The results were astounding.

“They’re coming in at night getting a third of the work done, so the team during the morning shift does not have as much pressure to get everything completed,” Shawn Palumbo said. The simple change decreased production errors and increased employee morale. “They’re less stressed and they’re more efficient. The quality has gone up to our customers as well. We’ve seen our returns decreased,” he said. The addition of the third shift even allowed their trucks to leave earlier, which assists in completing their deliveries within service rule hours.

Also read: Labor analytics: A how-to guide for company leadership

Team visibility despite the miles

“When I was younger, I worked at places and you grabbed the card, you put it in the machine, you put it back. What visibility does that give anybody?” Shawn Palumbo said, recalling the punch clocks that most businesses used decades ago, and which some still use today. For him, Workforce.com’s Time Clock App increased visibility and engagement with their teams who are working 2,000 miles away. “As management is in Pennsylvania, we have cameras at our Texas facility, but no one is sitting here watching the cameras all day. With Workforce.com, we can see what time they’re punching in, and coming and going,” he said.

For Palumbo Foods, the increased visibility has allowed them to operate better. It linked them to a critical part of their operation without actually being there. “We could remotely monitor and verify the hours being worked and make the appropriate decisions based on that data,” he said,” It has also increased trust among team members. Before switching to Workforce.com, employee attendance caused some friction. “The staff is now operating 24/7 so staff can come and go, and sometimes it was not being noticed. It was causing issues between team members as some were showing up later and leaving earlier than others,” he said. Now, they can look at the timesheets and resolve these conflicts easily.

Growing with workforce technology

In 2017, Palumbo Foods opened a facility in San Antonio, Texas, with seven employees. They also service Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia and Florida. The business is still slated for more growth and success, and Workforce.com is with them as they continue to optimize and improve their operations. “Knowing that, at any time, we can look at these reports, from anywhere has been a big, big help for us,” Shawn Palumbo said.

Pennsylvania continues to lead the mushroom production industry in the United States. Contributing to this boom is Palumbo Foods, a company that continues to flourish through its talented staff and loyal customers. “It kind of really grew this into something that no one ever expected it could be,” he said.

And with their investment in workforce technology that lets them track employees and operations accurately, they’re all set to keep providing quality produce to more customers in the years to come.

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Phishing attacks are yet another COVID-19 issue that needs to be on your radar

According to the Detroit Free Press, cybercriminals are exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic to try to access people’s computers and steal their data.
The scheme?

Cyber criminals are targeting employees who are working remotely with fraudulent termination phishing emails and invites to video teleconference meetings, according to federal authorities. As part of the phishing email or text, you might be asked to click on a link to receive more information about a severance package. If you fall for it, and click on a link, you might end up downloading malicious code onto your computer to allow the hacker to create a backdoor to access information. … One area of particular concern going forward involves fraud relating to scammers who are attempting to impersonate contact tracers who will alert you to the possibility that you were near someone who tested positive for COVID-19.

The criminals are hoping that the urgent nature of the emails tied to issues of importance related to the pandemic will cause people to click that link before they realize they made a dangerous mistake.
What can you do to protect your employees and your corporate information on their WFH and other devices? Now is the time to reinforce the importance of cybersecurity awareness for your employees. The tips that I’ve previously shared here are still as relevant as ever.
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Labor analytics add power to workforce management tools

labor analytics

Employing labor data analytics typically leads to more informed business decisions. From labor forecasting to measuring employee morale, data analytics allows for more precise and impactful results.

The advantages of implementing workforce management solutions also are clear. Automating time and pay calculations and empowering employees through mobile apps give managers valuable tools to control scheduling, compensation costs and organizational needs. 

Using both resources powers the ability to make even stronger choices for workforce management. 

Power tools with the power of analytics

Backing workforce management tools with the power of labor analytics creates a formidable partnership. This can help save money, establish formal business practices and remove the guesswork hindering management and operational issues. Employers can make more informed talent decisions, and:

  • Predict future hiring requirements.
  • Calculate current staffing needs.
  • Analyze compensation and overtime.
  • Optimize employee engagement.

Also read: Labor analytics: A how-to guide for company leadership

Predict future hiring requirements

The growth of an organization can be hobbled by its ability to find qualified employees. Since there are times when hiring comes in a flurry, recruiting becomes post the position, make the hire and pray they work out. Oftentimes new hires are not as productive as the existing staff and can cut into the team’s productivity. Forecasting labor needs through analytics establishes measured hiring practices. And implementing tools such as Workforce.com’s shift ratings and feedback solution provides managers with the ability to carefully balance veteran staff with new hires.

Calculate current staffing needs

Managers can get burned by being overstaffed and understaffed if they rely on traditional shift patterns and gut instinct. Overstaffing creates disillusioned employees with little to do, a lack of focus and a negative attitude toward co-workers. Productivity suffers and compensation costs needlessly soar. Conversely, understaffing leads to employee stress, burnout, poor performance, rattled customers and high turnover. Shift feedback tools help managers forecast their needs and curb chronic overstaffing and understaffing.

Analyze compensation and overtime

Few things catch an employer’s eye faster than seeing overtime on the compensation ledger. And like melting snow off a mountaintop, their irritation trickles down to frontline managers. Indeed some overtime can be justified, but there are workforce management solutions to adjust scheduling to seasonal or even hourly rushes that will manage compensation costs and limit unneeded overtime.

Optimize employee engagement
An engaged workforce produces a happy workplace. Balancing staffing needs and incorporating flex schedules builds confidence that management is looking out for their interests. Allowing employees to provide feedback also gives them a voice in organizational operations. 

labor analytics

The Workforce.com Shift Rating and Feedback mobile app prompts staff once a week to provide their insights on common workplace topics. Their feedback in turn helps managers rate staff and build skill profiles. Those profiles benefit managers by pairing employees with varying skill levels as they build out schedules. Managers making quick, informed decisions gives employees the knowledge that their input has provided valuable guidance.

When workforce analytics and tools are functioning well, it’s not only the business that benefits. Employees want to take more initiative. Empower them with workforce management mobile solutions to solve problems. For example, they can:

  • Communicate their needs for scheduling and time off.
  • Quickly swap shifts on their own.
  • Get and provide feedback that can improve their performance and drive organizational productivity.
  • Develop their skills and utilize their potential.
  • Build camaraderie across the team.

Equip executives and managers with the analytics and tools they need to understand labor issues and make more informed decisions. Implement Workforce.com’s shift ratings and feedback solution to quickly and easily bolster your employee and scheduling analytics.

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Angel Assistance spreads its wings for families in Atlanta

Angel Assistance, scheduling

Attending Georgia State University on scholarship after living in a small town, Savannah Samples didn’t originally envision her part time jobs would eventually bloom into the business opportunity she’s pursuing today.

The young founder of Atlanta-based total family assistance company Angel Assistance started out doing nanny work to support herself alongside full-time studies.

“I always did nannying as well as doing other things — doing laundry, doing dishes, cooking dinner, taking the kids places, all the different kinds of stuff the moms usually do. When they got home they would be all, ‘oh thank you so much, you helped so much, not just nannying but doing everything,’ ” Samples said.

Also read: Shift swap software empowers managers and employees to take charge of scheduling

She worked hard — a necessity when coming from humble beginnings. She found one regular in her sophomore year of university, and another the year after — and as word-of-mouth referrals from those two poured in, the list began to grow. Two became twelve, and she now had a loyal client base. But juggling the number of clients on top of schoolwork took a toll on her.

“Everybody kept referring me, a good problem to have, but I only have so many hands. And this mom I was working with at the time who owned two businesses, said why don’t you just start up your own company?”

From side gig to full-fledged business

She decided to go for it despite no entrepreneurship background and little knowledge about government requirements. It took two years of her learning the ropes of business ownership alone for Samples to hire her first full-time employee.

From there, it snowballed. Angel Assistance, once a one-person company, now employs six full-time “angels” and 30 clients, around 23 of whom have set recurring weekly schedules. The company’s services? A common misconception about it is that they do elderly care, or purely nannying. That isn’t the case.

Case study: Building a safety policy was vital to Shawmut Design and Construction’s health

“We wash, we walk the dog, we cook you dinner, we grocery shop, organize your closet, do summer, winter switch up on closets, make your beds, everything you can’t get from a deep cleaner, you can’t get from a babysitter, you can’t get from a chef, from a dry cleaning service. We do all in one. So family assistance totally, with individuals as a family as well,” Samples said.

This scale-up meant Samples needed to find a reliable employee scheduling app to ease her managerial load. Employees would contact her to manually schedule shifts, and repeatedly fielding calls would make her “go insane.” She tried one brand of workforce software, but despite the good customer service as time went on the app would glitch to the point where it caused operational issues.

Employees wouldn’t be able to see their schedules, and clients would be waiting for an angel to show up at their door to no avail. It also didn’t have as much features as she would like.

“I like the app and the people that I did talk to when I first started were great […], but the app glitched enough to where it was causing issues with our clients where angels weren’t showing up to the location because they couldn’t see their schedule published. So I knew something was going to have to happen.”

Finding the right scheduling app

Workforce.com’s name came up when Samples asked around for possible alternatives. She became interested in it once she did some research: It had more features than the previous app, and the possibility of developing more in the future.

Angel Assistance now uses Workforce.com primarily for its employee scheduling app. They’ve adapted to use it for their specific needs as well, instead of just Samples holding the manager title, Angel Assistance’s families have manager accounts of their own, enabling these recurring clients to see and respond to the shifts of their assigned employee. This was in contrast to their previous app, where families ended up with a “put it out in the universe and hope the angel shows up” situation.

Being someone who does organizing work herself, Samples especially appreciates how Workforce.com has room for consolidating information about her angels. Other than the time clock and location features, which they also use, she mentions the qualifications tab: a place where she can keep a file on each angel that contains their background check, driving record, profile, and more. “I love that Workforce.com has the qualifications tab where i can put all of those on the app; if we need them we can pull them up and look at them.”

Also read: Scheduling headaches: How to better manage your hourly workers’ schedules

Forward-looking enthusiasm

Workforce.com has also helped Samples cut down on her role as middleman between clients and angels. She handles two to three different families per day herself for about four hours each, and keeps in touch with others in-between, with a short break for lunch. But the work doesn’t stop there.

She gets home at around 9 or 10 p.m., but sometimes the phone keeps ringing. “I’m to the point now where I have to put my phone on ‘do not disturb’ past like, 11 o’ clock because otherwise I probably wouldn’t sleep.”

Despite her busy schedule, Workforce.com does help. With the employee scheduling app having features for leave requests and shift time changes, employees don’t need to contact her as much as before. 

Her eventual goal? To fully transition to overhead management.

“It’s a lot, and I don’t mind it because it’s what I do and obviously I love what I do,” she said. “But I know I can’t give my 100 percent to families because I’m doing management. I’ve had some kids 4 or 5 years old, so I feel bad that I’m not giving them full attention because I have to answer the phone for a management call for 20, 30 minutes.”

She may be a business owner now, but Samples — and Angel Assistance — retains the core that made clients trust her years ago: the sincere compassion and heart for the families they serve.

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Unify those far away workplaces with global mobility tools

Expanding from a domestic business to a global entity is an exciting prospect. Yet tapping into new worldwide markets brings a unique set of workforce management challenges.

Success depends on a variety of factors but it ultimately comes down to building a consistent, equitable plan to manage employees at home and abroad. Implementing a workforce management software solution that can track and facilitate the needs of a global workforce is crucial to successfully developing an organization’s worldwide ambitions.

A global workforce balancing act

How executives supervise their workforce in one country may vastly differ in another nation for many reasons. What motivates an employee in Argentina will likely vary from a worker with the same title and responsibilities in Belarus or Pakistan.

Studies also have shown that while a population in one country prefers a particular management style, that same approach probably is not as effective in another country. Other differences can include:

Holiday celebrations.

Social attitudes.

Cultural backgrounds.

Language and currency.

Unifying global employees

Despite the myriad differences that come with managing a global workforce, there are common bonds and responsibilities all employees share.

Also read: Global workforce management is complex but more relevant in the remote workplace

They all work for the same organization. As such, human resources leaders should work with heads of other departments and regional managers to create uniform workforce management precedents, policies and standards that cross all borders and incorporate relevant and useful tools for all employees to use no matter where they are located.

Technology and a global workforce management system

When choosing an automated workforce management solution for a global company, organizations should seek ease of use through mobility tools that can quickly show a return on investment. Workforce management software enables savings by:

  • Controlling labor costs — Workforce management software cuts costs beginning with the initial clock in by eliminating time theft due to employee fraud. Automating payroll processes also minimizes the need for supervisors to make interpretations and ensures strict compliance with corporate policies.
  • Boosting employee productivity — Managers can monitor when their employees punch in and when they actually begin work. A mobile solution can help spot an excessive time lag and can immediately investigate the causes no matter where the employee is located.
  • Minimizing risk — Implementing a global workforce management system can provide key regulatory requirements up front and provide alerts to ensure organizations can comply with regional regulations consistently and with confidence.

Mobile solutions ease the burden

Managers need to know where global staff is at any given moment. Whether it’s due to crisis communications during a natural disaster or monitoring employee safety through their whereabouts on a particular job site, mobile workforce management solutions allow managers to  quickly identify and assess staff safety and location through a platform’s photo-verified clock in system.

GPS also plays a key role in global workforce management. Timesheets can automatically sync GPS locations of all employees when they clock in and clock out, so there’s no need to worry about an employee’s whereabouts.

For a number of organizations operating in industries that function globally, pay rates also can get complicated. By implementing the Workforce.com platform, employees’ GPS clock in data automatically assigns pay rates depending on registered location, saving employers valuable time and payroll administrators the headache and complexities of computing pay.

Integrate Workforce.com’s time clock app with payroll and POS systems already in use and have those far-away employees available in an instant via your mobile device.

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Connecting to community with Grand Finale Desserts and Pastries

time clock, food

Justin Raha of Grand Finale Desserts and Pastries knows exactly why his business has been so successful.

Starting out as a baker’s apprentice with a passion for pastry, Raha eventually founded Grand Finale, starting out with a focus on wedding cakes and chocolate. He diversified to include more types of baked goods and pastries. Now, the small business employs five people and enjoys a good reputation among the local community of Grand Haven, Michigan. 

Locals supporting local

“We use Michigan blueberries, Michigan strawberries, Michigan raspberries. We use dried fruit and we try to use Michigan sugar, and we get Michigan eggs, and so everything that we’re getting we’re trying to get as local as possible.” These ingredients are what makes Grand FInale’s treats so special, Raha said. The result? Quality products at affordable prices, with the added bonus of supporting other local businesses in the area. 

Raha’s commitment to using local ingredients and participating in community events has solidified Grand Finale’s charm — they aren’t just another bakery in the area, but a recognizable name in the neighborhood.

Also read: Building a safety policy was vital to Shawmut Design and Construction’s health

“We give back to the community a lot which is really big. We have a really strong local community that is all about growth and support of each other and different tasks, fundraisers, organizations, and groups,” Raha said. “And so any opportunity we can to help out more for our community we try to do that, which has gotten really substantial in kick back toward our business because people see that we give back to the community and donate to them. Because of that they tend to want to come to us.” 

Smoother payroll with time clock software

Raha found Workforce.com through the mobile app store and thought to try it out. After trying a few other apps, he found Workforce.com the most user-friendly and affordable for Grand Finale’s needs, especially the notification aspect that allows requests to come in through email. Now, the small business has been using Workforce.com’s time clock software for over a year, as well as the employee scheduling features to keep track of operations.

While employee schedules are consistent, what the time clock software has done for them is make shift durations much easier to track. With all the data about when employees clock in and out, calculating wages is faster — Raha just sends the timesheets over to his accountant, and a process that used to take an hour now lasts 15 minutes. 

Sweet gestures

Whether it’s the local farmers’ market, events supporting mental health programs or environmental fundraisers, Grand Finale Desserts and Pastries is there to lift the spirits of anyone who tries their baked treats. Building trust between small business owners and customers over time, through authenticity and visible effort are the key ingredients to the bakery’s success.  

“They know we’re good,” Raha said. “They know that their money is going to stay local and get back into the community.” 

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Knock out the practice of buddy punching for good

buddy punching; clocking in

Clocking in for a colleague may come as a wink and a nod between coworkers. But the practice of buddy punching is time theft, plain and simple, and it can land a gut punch to managers trying to ring in their scheduling problems and labor costs.

However, advances in workforce management technology and mobile solutions are pulling no punches against those clocking in for a colleague who is running late or worse, randomly decides to take an unauthorized day off.

 What constitutes time theft

It may start innocently enough. The train is stuck. The babysitter arrived late. But without a manager’s approval, time theft is easily defined.

  • Employees start shifts late.
  • An employee leaves shifts early.
  • They take breaks that are longer than scheduled.
  • They work overtime that wasn’t authorized
  • An employee engages in personal or non-work-related activities while on the job.

And then there is buddy punching.

The financial sting of buddy punching

Time theft puts an alarming drain on an organization’s finances. One 2018 estimate pegs the cost of buddy punching at over $370 million in payroll costs annually, and according to research by the American Payroll Association, buddy punching affects about 75 percent of U.S. small businesses.

Also read: Make managers more successful with the tools to retain and engage their employees

Additionally, businesses lose 5 percent of their annual revenue to employee fraud, and buddy punching is fraud. Businesses with fewer than 150 employees are more likely to take it on the chin due to employee fraud schemes like time theft.

What leads to buddy punching 

buddy punching; clocking in

Some employees simply will take advantage of a situation when they know they can. A lack of adequate technology with proper checks and balances often sets the path to one worker punching in for another. Even implementing a system with RFID cards or passwords can be manipulated.

Lacking proper technology, multiple employees can utilize passwords and credentials to punch in for one another if the system does not detect who uses the password, and employers have a difficult time proving time theft.

Employers also naively foot some of the blame. They can develop a false sense of security since they may have hired and gotten to know the people working for them. And, because they know them, they are confident that none are bad people who would steal from them. Adequate workforce management software creates a more objective, unbiased approach to the time and attendance process.

Counterpunching time theft

There are solutions to sparring with buddy punching. By automating how staff members clock in and out with mobile solutions, not only can time theft be curbed but hours of needless administrative tasks be cut back.

Record when your employees punch in and out with Workforce.com’s time clock. From ensuring the right person clocks in for the shift to paying staff correctly, it starts with the mobile time clock app.

Such a solution assures that the right person clocks in for the right shift through electronic photo verification and unique passcodes. These, along with payroll add-ons, also let employers do away with lengthy steps in computing payroll.

Going mobile

Mobile time and attendance solutions also help manage employees remotely without having to question time and attendance records. Such automated solutions also build trust. By not relying on pen and paper bookkeeping, employees gain the confidence to know they won’t have to follow up or scrutinize recordkeeping to make sure they are being paid fairly for their work.

Why pay for hours that weren’t worked? Make the practice of buddy punching tap out and fight the scourge of time theft with Workforce.com’s time clock app.

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Building a safety policy was vital to Shawmut Design and Construction’s health

Shawmut Vitals, mobile technology, HR technology, safety, COVID-19 construction

Like many companies Shawmut Design and Construction faced the dilemma of protecting the health and well-being of its employees as the COVID-19 pandemic tore through the U.S. workforce.

While the safety of its 900 employees was Shawmut’s top priority, no one-size-fits-all solution was evident. Shawmut’s staff includes in-office employees as well as workers in the field at sites across the country.

With a diverse portfolio of jobs including cultural and historic buildings, academic institutions, commercial properties, luxury homes and Major League Baseball stadiums, Shawmut’s executive team had to act quickly and decisively to assure that their workers could function safely while still productively maintaining their commitments to hundreds of clients.

Shawmut, COVID-19, pandemic
Les Hiscoe, CEO, Shawmut Design and Construction

“We experienced added complexities on many projects that continued to work right through and were not impacted by shutdowns,” said Les Hiscoe, Shawmut’s CEO since 2015. “We had to make real-time adjustments on the fly to keep our people safe first and foremost and to make sure we continued to deliver for our clients.”

Also read: Whether you have a staff of 10 or 10,000, scheduling is easier with Workforce.com software

One of Shawmut’s core values even before the pandemic struck was “find a better way.” Company leaders realized early on during the pandemic that making decisions on the fly was not sustainable and determined the “better way” was developing solutions internally.

Initially partnering with trade unions, industry peer groups and other construction companies, Shawmut developed its COVID-19 safety plan to minimize coronavirus exposure and risk across all job sites. The company soon rolled out safety protocols as well as a COVID-19 risk assessment and response plan to project sites across the country, Hiscoe said.

Shawmut’s leadership looked inward to develop a technology-driven solution that addresses worker safety as well as on-site productivity. Built in-house, Shawmut’s IT, safety and marketing teams developed Shawmut Vitals, a custom technology platform designed to track COVID-19 symptoms and manage contact tracing to minimize and control infectious disease spread.

Implementing a vital technology solution

Shawmut staff quickly took the platform to market, transforming the idea from concept to rollout in under two weeks, Hiscoe said.

“The platform allows employees and subcontractors to self-certify daily health screenings by scanning a job-specific QR code that pulls up a health survey to fill out,” Hiscoe said. “If an individual is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms or has been exposed to someone who is either infected or at risk, the individual is flagged for further care and action.”

The platform reduces friction points as people enter a site. Shawmut Vitals also frees a site superintendent’s time since the data is integrated into Shawmut’s systems, resulting in thorough recordkeeping and generating reports that previously had been done by hand.

Virtual communication in the office and on site

Frequent communication played a huge role in Shawmut’s safety response and employee engagement when offices began reopening, Hiscoe said.

“We held daily executive team huddles that begin with conversations around the best ways to keep our people safe, sharing successes and lessons learned across our job sites and regions,” Hiscoe said. “This also includes connecting with our Virtual Crisis Command Center, a COVID-19 crisis team that is constantly monitoring developments and helping to guide actions. We can provide constant guidance to our on-site client and office teams and ensure we are following all federal, state and CDC recommendations.”

Shawmut’s Future of Work Task Force also evolved out of their meetings.

Created to implement the best processes, systems and technology as employees began returning to the organization’s 10 offices, the task force is made up of cross-region, cross-department staff members.

The team meets virtually every week to develop thorough office-specific plans that adhere to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state and local government guidelines to keep everyone as safe as possible. Each office has a core team that examines the specific needs of that space and workforce to ensure every detail is taken into consideration, enabling staff to work safely and efficiently.

Hiscoe added that before entering the office, employees complete a health screening using Shawmut Vitals. This not only prevents those exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms or may have been exposed from coming into the office but also helps with contact tracing. Offices are also clearly marked with signs including traffic flow, conference room capacity limits and common-area closures.

Those who are not ready to come back to the office utilize Shawmut Flex, Hiscoe said, a flexible work program allowing teams to work remotely.

“Having flex options is rare in the construction industry so Shawmut was uniquely positioned to be able to transition to work from home arrangements,” he said.

Following the rules

The pandemic has had a significant effect on how Shawmut employees work together on their job sites, Hiscoe said. They identified several new requirements: 

  • Self-awareness

“We encourage any individual who is feeling sick or who is presenting any symptoms of a cold, flu, or COVID-19 to stay home and/or seek medical attention. We enforce a 100 percent zero-tolerance policy that does not allow for anyone showing symptoms to be on the job site.”

  • Hygiene

All projects provide access to hand washing stations, which are spread at least 6 feet apart to maintain social distancing. Hand washing stations have corresponding signs with proper hand washing and hygiene techniques.

  • Personal protective equipment

All standard requirements apply. When two workers are operating near each other, face shields, safety glasses, hard hats and face masks are mandatory. PPE is disinfected before brought in personal vehicles or to homes.

  • Site safety requirements

A COVID-19 officer is on site 100 percent of the time to enforce all site safety rules, including the twice-daily cleaning of high-contact and common areas, pre-task planning meeting, health screenings, limiting of only essential personnel on the site and frequently cleaning high-traffic areas, equipment, and tools and devices. 

  • Communication

The team hosts toolbox talks related to COVID-19, distributes regularly written communications on best practices to job-site teams and reinforces all messages with signs in English and Spanish.

  • Emergency procedures

In the event of possible COVID-19 exposure, Shawmut teams will strictly follow CDC regulations.

Hiscoe added there is no wiggle room with Shawmut’s procedures either in office or on a job site. “Alongside my executive leadership team and virtual crisis team, we’ve made our enhanced safety protocols mandatory for both our staff on site and in our offices,” he said. “We’ve shared our enhanced protocols virtually with our partners and any guests who may need to access our offices making them fully aware of our mandatory procedures.”

Keeping in contact with all employees

Hiscoe said the pandemic has severely disrupted his own schedule and halted all travel for him.

“As a quintessential extrovert, this has been a challenge in an age of social distancing, both professionally and personally. As a leader, I pride myself in making connections with our people, projects and partners.”

Hiscoe’s limited travel schedule established unforeseen ways to manage his stress.

“I made sure to regularly work out, which helped immensely. And during quarantine, I have really enjoyed being home with my family and having dinners together.”

Knowing who is where and when is crucial to their safety and well-being. With staff working in an office, remotely or in the field, automate how your employees clock in and out with Workforce.com’s GPS-enabled time clock app that works everywhere in the world.

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Make managers more successful with the tools to retain and engage their employees

shift scheduling for hourly restaurant workers, shift swap

Many managers cannot pinpoint their employee headcount at any given moment.

On top of that, data published in global leadership consultancy DDI’s 2019 Frontline Leader Project establishes that 57 percent of employees quit because of their boss. DDI’s study also reports that 14 percent have left multiple jobs because of their managers and an additional 32 percent have seriously considered leaving because of their manager. 

Many managers are ill equipped and poorly trained to efficiently run a workforce. Whether it’s tallying employee headcount or engaging workers, employers can arm managers with the tools to ensure they become valued top-line supervisors prepared to retain and sustain their employees.

Start with scheduling software

One of the most confounding aspects of a manager’s responsibilities is properly scheduling staff. Tracking employee rosters, hours worked and remaining PTO on paper or on outdated spreadsheets is fraught with opportunities for mistakes.

According to a 2017 survey, 38 percent of employees who track time said they still use manual processes like paper time cards and traditional punch clocks. By eliminating tedious and time-consuming paper-based systems, managers can easily and accurately schedule the right person in the right place at the right time. 

Employee scheduling software allows managers to see the big picture and make more accurate, data-driven decisions in just a few clicks. Following are five ways that workforce management software eases scheduling headaches.

  1. Implement scheduling technology

Efficiency is the key to workforce scheduling software. Determining staffing levels is a constant challenge and can be the most perplexing aspect of staff scheduling. Labor analytics fueled by a comprehensive software solution can forecast resource needs and gaps. It also integrates both timekeeping and attendance functions. Employee profiles — who is available when, or who is on paid time off — are available with a few clicks.

  1. Know organizational needs to create a smart schedule

Don’t let your schedule dictate you. Be the boss — literally and figuratively — with software that puts you in charge of the process. Eliminate the gut instinct and implement a software solution to accurately assess customer needs and employee resources. Effective, analytical employee scheduling lowers the company’s labor costs and maximizes customer satisfaction by matching resources to demand.

  1. Make changes on the fly? Go for it!

There are plenty of times when the unexpected occurs. From freak snowstorms that impede travel to a flu bug sweeping across the workplace, scheduling adjustments have to occur quickly and effectively in times of an emergency. 

Scheduling software allows for quick communication with workers. Incorporating a scheduling tool with mobile technology including a communications app builds 24/7 schedule access and puts real-time communication at a manager’s fingertips.

  1. Shuffle the deck: Matching A + B + C players shouldn’t be a game of chance

Good managers know how to mesh the strengths and weaknesses of their employees. 

Pairing varying talent levels can be a game of chance unless there is data behind the decision. Scheduling software removes the guesswork and incorporates analytics-based information into the decision making process.

  1. Measure, assess and fine tune

OK, so a schedule is a tool and not an employee. Still, like all staff members, scheduling should undergo regular performance reviews and frequent analysis. 

Incorporate employee feedback and business performance indicators into the assessment. Robust scheduling software will collect crucial data to assess and reveal insights. By understanding and evaluating the data, managers can better optimize their scheduling process.

Like a carpenter has a hammer and a plumber relies on a wrench, supervisors need the proper online tools to effectively manage their employees. Workforce.com’s scheduling software helps managers control costs, enhance communication, build engagement and focus on the bigger picture of the business. Shifts can be scheduled a month in advance. Give your managers every opportunity to succeed beginning with scheduling software by Workforce.com.